●How long can a driver legally drive in a day ?
●Why don’t truck drivers run legal ?
●Do bright lights or fog lights bother truckers since they are sitting so high ?
●How do truck drivers get paid & how much do they make?
●What age can one become a trucker?
●How Does A Truck Driver Know What To Do And Where To Go?
How long can a driver legally drive in a day ?
Legal drive time is 11 hours of driving with 10 hours of break thereafter. The NEW rules require that after 14 hours from your begin time in a given day you have 10 hours break no matter how many miles you’ve driven. Up to 70 hours in an 8 day period. With NO overtime required to be paid after 40 hours. After 34 hours off duty they may RESET their 70 hours to regain a full 70 hours for the new week. updated Feb 23, 2004
Why don’t truck drivers run legal ?
It is a practical impossibility to run entirely legal if you were to include waiting time, etc. So many drivers figure if you are forced by the broken system to run illegal, then why not go all the way and do what you want all the time. What is the difference, illegal by a minute or by days? This system needs fixed. The new hours coming out by our ” all wise ” government are going to make things even worse. Of course you really could run entirely legal if you do NOT mind begging for food!
[ obviously, this depends on who the driver drives for. ]
Do bright lights or fog lights bother truckers since they are sitting so high ?
Some may laugh at this question but you would be surprised at how many people ask this question. Of course they do ! Truckers are directly in the line of sight of fog lights and bright lights. I don’t know about you but I don’t want an 80,000 lb truck coming at me who is blinded by fog lights and can’t see. Some say they use them so they can see better but what about the trucker coming at you who can’t ? Does that line of reasoning make any sense at all ? Don’t fool yourself they are not driving lights, they are fog lights.
Fog lights are by far the most frustrating things on the highways today.
How do truck drivers get paid & how much do they make?
So you want to know how much a trucker makes and how he/she gets paid? A typical trucker gets paid by the mile. He/she has to make as many miles as possible to achieve a good paycheck. While that trucker is sitting in dock, traffic, and shops they get paid typically NOTHING. 
A driver can make anywhere from .19 cents a mile to around .44 cents a mile. Depending on how long they’ve driven and many other variables. So to break it down to how much a driver brings home specifically is difficult but runs around $300 – $1,200 a week.
What age can one become a trucker?
A person who wishes to drive cross country with a CDL license [eighteen wheelers] has to be 21 years of age. Now persons who wish to drive an eighteen wheeler locally or IN STATE only will have to be the age of at least 18. Because of age discrimination among the insurance companies most carriers won’t hire you on unless you are 23 years of age or in some cases 25+! Need Training To Become A Truck Driver? CLICK HERE
Need To Study For Your CDL ?
These states currently have a study guide online [some of them may take a few minutes to download].
How does a truck driver know what to do and where to go?
These days ,as I’m sure you know, everything is computerized. Eighteen wheelers are no exception. MOST trucks are equipped with a QUALCOMM™ Satellite System. OR some other type of satellite system to enable trucking companies to track their trucks to within three blocks anywhere in the country! These trucks now are highly sophisticated. So it goes without saying that the new dispatching methods have indeed followed.
Truck drivers now do not have much need of a telephone. When the trucking company gets a load from a customer they then send a message over the satellite which the driver gets in his truck on an onboard computer telling him/her where to go and when to be there. It also tells the driver how many miles it is to the customer, directions, and any other pertinent information requested by that customer.
The support behind the scenes (i.e. dispatchers, customer reps) is absolutely critical to keeping a truck moving economically. These trucking companies have massive operation centers packed with computers and high tech equipment. To keep a fleet of 3,000 trucks moving and pleasing customers all across the United States is a hard task.
New advances in technology are greatly enhancing the life of a trucker. These computers are getting very complicated. A trucking company can track how fast the truck is moving as it is moving, how long it has been on the move, fuel economy, idle time, engine rpm, and on and on! It is amazing what has come and what IS coming soon!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
What is the age limit to driving a truck?
[Reply]
Mike_MD Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
The age limitation of 21 years of age kicks in at 10,001 pounds or more or placarded quantities of HM. The 10,001 pounds or more is the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) as declared by the manufacturer or the combination gross vehicle weight rating (CGVWR) of truck’s GVWR and trailer’s GVWR, i.e. truck’s GVWR = 8,000 + trailer’s GVWR of 2,500 = 10,500 CGVWR making the vehicle subject to the rules.
There is no maximum age limit for operating provided the person may pass the DOT physical.
Be safe.
Mike
[Reply]